Problem: If the sales tax in your city is $5.8\%$, how much tax would you pay for an item that costs $\$43$ before tax? Round to the nearest cent.
Solution: In order to find the amount of sales tax you would pay, multiply the sales tax by the original price of the item. ${5.8\%} \times {\$43} =$ Percent means "out of one hundred," so $5.8\%$ is equivalent to $5.8 \div 100$ $5.8 \div 100 = 0.058$ Multiply the sales tax you just converted into a decimal by the original price to find the amount of sales tax that must be paid. Round to the nearest cent. $0.058$ $\times$ $$43$ = $$2.49$ You would pay $$2.49$ in sales tax.